Ashes -2019

[IlfordEagle]

Mentioning Sam Curran, one thing he has in abundance is fighting spirit, he is a gritty little player & I guarantee if he goes to Oz for the next Ashes tour the Aussies will respect him for that, he always looks like he really cares when he plays for England ( & Surrey for that matter), he also contributes one way or another when he plays unlike Mooen of late.

[Andy]

Feel sorry for Leach and Sam Curran. Clearly the selectors feel Leach is not a better spinner than Ali, whilst his 92 was a freak innings. SC might lose out because he’s not banging the ball into the deck and we have Stokes as all rounder plus the likes of Woakes. Maybe Curran junior should move himself up the order for Slurrey?? He has the tenacity.

[Oldhasbeen]

Well, we've certainly had 2 days or real Test cricket. Rory Burns had his share of plays & misses, but for grit, determination and some intelligent changes to his approach (particularly to Lyon) he deserves his ton, proving the doubters, e.g. me, wrong. I raise my glass to you, sir.

[nat]

Well, we've certainly had 2 days or real Test cricket. Rory Burns had his share of plays & misses, but for grit, determination and some intelligent changes to his approach (particularly to Lyon) he deserves his ton, proving the doubters, e.g. me, wrong. I raise my glass to you, sir.

Yep got to agree. A limited player but tons of determination.

[IlfordEagle]

Very pleased for Burns who has definitely got determination & character in large quantities, not pretty to watch but, like Ally often used to be for Eng, got the job done.

[Oldhasbeen]

Very pleased for Burns who has definitely got determination & character in large quantities, not pretty to watch but, like Ally often used to be for Eng, got the job done.

Not pretty to watch and deathly boring when he's playing for Surrey and scoring big against our boys - but it was oddly enjoyable watching him yesterday.

Can't see Jimmy bowling this Test, or for the next few. Might be end of his career?

Big Q today is can we get Smith out before he gets another ton. There were some interesting career stats suggesting that he just loves off spinners but is much less prolific against slow left armers - given Moeen's uselessness with the bat  these days(surely he should be batting below Woakes), could it be time for Jack Leach at lords?

[Andy]

Moeen has been poor ever since he got worked out with the short ball. Now reduced to bowling full tosses. Joke selection. Jack Leach has dodged a bullet.

[IlfordEagle]

It would be kind to drop Moeen Ali even if only for 1 Test to give him a jolt & let Leach see what he can do.

[bwildered]

No rhythm in his bowling, can a second innings batting display save Moen's test place? Will the World Cup winners be able to survive a days test batting on a fifth day to keep the series level ?

[Andy]

Moeen's test place has been in doubt for over a year.  I know that 'class is permanent, but form temporary' but he's never really shown much class.  Had we got a fully fit seam attack and confidence in our top order he'd never got near this Test team.

[Andy]

Well, that was cr@p.

[nat]

Well, that was cr@p.

Yep that's what you get when you neglect proper county cricket.

[JasonP]

Didnt watch today but it's been a very odd match.  I don't ever remember a Test Match that was effectively 10 vs 11 half an hour into the game.  Had Anderson have been able to bowl then the likelihood of 120-8 being turned into 284 was almost nil.  With him we would have had a very good chance of victory, I think.
We know there are problems.  Roy should be at 4 and Denly should be nowhere near any England Team.  I'm a fan of Moeens, his record in England is very good but he has always been a real confidence player.  After what happened to him last time in Australia where his form and confidence went totally he's pretty much unselectable at the moment.  They'll have to bring Leach in guess.  Lords doesnt offer much for spin and I don't think he's that good really when it comes to being international class but there's little choice.  The bonus is he'll weaken the Somerset team, which I'm all for.

[pablo]

It won't happen but I would drop Ali and Bairstow based on current form and Buttler whose talents are many but don't seem to embrace the 5 day game. I would bring in Sibley and Foakes- Archer has to play to replace Anderson and I would also play Bess rather than Leach. Bess's only test match was a success and he can bat and field. After a poor season last year he has played well in all formats for Yorkshire albeit on loan. I'm afraid I would consider Northeast too to replace Denly. Michael Holding should replace Isha Guha as a commentator on Sky but that's a marginal call!

[nat]

It won't happen but I would drop Ali and Bairstow based on current form and Buttler whose talents are many but don't seem to embrace the 5 day game. I would bring in Sibley and Foakes- Archer has to play to replace Anderson and I would also play Bess rather than Leach. Bess's only test match was a success and he can bat and field. After a poor season last year he has played well in all formats for Yorkshire albeit on loan. I'm afraid I would consider Northeast too to replace Denly. Michael Holding should replace Isha Guha as a commentator on Sky but that's a marginal call!

Agree with all of that especially the MH/IG bit.